USS Penumbra Sim Narrative, SD 202010.30 Announcement: . This sim begins a new story plot introduced by Lt. T'Lin as she begins the process of earning promotion to Lieutenant Commander! Bridge (and other locations): . The Penumbra was parked, with their MIRAGE engaged, some distance from the Rift, observing the actions of the strange Romulan d'Deridex Warbird commanded by this alternate universe's equivalent of who they had come to know as Ambassador Android (but was certainly not the one they knew!). . That Warbird had destroyed two of the graviton emitters that had helped to keep the Rift stable, and that had caused the Rift to begin wobbling erratically. Fearing that the strange Android might try to go through the Rift to our universe, Lt. Col. Travis Patterson ordered the graviton emitters to self-destruct, and the resultant graviton wave had caused the Rift to collapse on itself. Now, the Rift that might be the Penumbra's only way home was hardly big enough to pass a small shuttlecraft. . Patterson and Lt. Cmdr. Jason Carter had rushed down to Flight Deck One. Patterson had not discussed his plan with anyone but Carter was sure they were about to launch Delta Flight and was headed down to oversee their departure. Ens. Proximus "Proxy" Filler had taken over the Helm in Carter's absence. . On the Bridge, Capt. Zak Taylor turned to the Tactical Station. "Den, keep an eye on that Warbird." . LtCmdr. Denovan Hawke glanced at his Tactical display and gave a nod. "Currently still the way they were a minute ago." . Zak turned back to the front. "Tabby, keep that MIRAGE up. I don't want that weird Android seeing us, got it?" . The half-Klingon, half-Romulan Chief of Operations grunted, "Aye, sir, all good, sir." . LtCmdr. Relok was at the Secondary Science Station, since Carshel had broken the screen of the Primary Station. He reported, "The Rift is stable for the moment, just ... so small!"

. LtCmdr. Bevin MacArdry, was back on the Bridge instead of in Main Engineering, sitting at the Primary Engineering Station. She confirmed everything down below was running smooth as a kitten's fur. Once she was sure everything was fine, she grabbed her toolkit and made her way over to the Science Station to see what she could do for the broken computer. . Over on the Warbird, the strange Android turned to his Tactical Officer and barked out, "Find that ship. They have to be close by." . Bevin's commbadge chirped. It was Carshel. She answered in her strong Brogue, "Aye, Carshel, wha be ait?" . Carshel said, "I damaged a computer on the bridge of the Science section. If you have the time I'd very much like it ... well, fixed or replaced entirely. I'll explain later, right now I need to tend to my hand." . Bevin responded, "Nae priblim, laittil braitty bri'thair. I'm ailraidy werkin an gaittin tha raiplaismint scrain fer their." She pulled a replacement screen from a storage bulkhead and began installing it. She continued speaking, "Iffin ye dae thais aigin, hawwivvir, ye'll be daein ait an yer awn." . Carshel's voice came back, "Whaaaat???? Pardon me come again?" He hadn't quite made out the thick Scottish Brogue. . Tabby cut in to explain, "She said if you do that again you're on your own." . Bevin nodded and said, "I'll dae thais ane, bit tha naixt ane ye're daein bay yersailf!" She got busy reinstalling the screen for Science One. . Just as Carter arrived on Flight Deck One, he saw the Cerberus catapulted out of the launch tube, and instantly cloak. He cursed, "Damn it!" and started checking the status of Delta Flight to see how quickly they could be launched. . On the Bridge, Den detected the launch. "There is a craft leaving the shuttle bay." . The Captain turned to Den with a groan, "Let me guess. Patterson has launched the Cerberus."

. He double checked then announced, "Yes, sir. On another suicide mission as par, Captain." . Zak sighed, "Den, watch the Cerberus. Tabby, can you get the Colonel on the line, please?" . Den nodded, "Keeping a lock. I've got his bio-signature, for now at least, just in case." . Tabby shrugged, "I can try, sir, contacting now." . Strangely, moments after launching, fully cloaked, the Cerberus became clearly visible. It was hurtling towards the Warbird and the Rift. . Tabby signaled he'd established a commlink and Zak barked out, "What the hell are you doing, Colonel?" . Patterson's voice came back, "Trying to buy you some time, Captain. Get the Penumbra away from here. I'll rendezvous at the Big Tree." . Zak turned to Den, "Buying us time? The Big Tree?" . But, it was Relok who answered. "Maybe he means the Kyrathian Homeworld, sir? We could pull back to there and wait." . Den shrugged, " I have no idea." Then he agreed with Relok, "Probably, not that we really need it to be honest." . Zak cursed, "Damn it, Colonel! You can't be doing crap like this! You're a Command Officer!" . Patterson's answer was so in character they could hear the smirk on his face. "Needs of the many, sir. Patterson out." And their commlink closed. They saw the flicker as he raised the Cerberus' shields. . At the Medical Station, Dr. Katarina Hawke was keeping a lock on Patterson's bio signs. She had planned to go with him, but he'd ordered her back to the bridge. . Then Den suggested, "We should just transport him out, link to the Cerberus and set it to auto-destruct. Yes, we'll lose his precious ship, but which is worse, losing him, or the ship?" . Zak turned and eyed Den. "That might not be so bad an idea, Commander, but .... we probably do need the time to get away from that Warbird ... and, Patterson is as lucky as he is pig-headed!"

. Den shrugged, "That's what the timer on the self-destruct is for, Captain." . But Zak spun back around and said, "Carter, lay in ... er, that is, Filler, lay in a course for the Kyrathian Homeworld. Slipstream it if you can." . About that time, the Turbolift doors slid open and T'Lin stepped onto the Bridge, holding up a finger at an Ensign that tried to speak to her. "No. Tea first," as she headed immediately down the steps to the replicator where a steaming mug was already awaiting her (she'd asked MAX to prepare it even while she was in the Turbolift). . Suddenly, Den barked out, "Incoming!" The Warbird had opened fire on the Cerberus (and the Penumbra that was just beyond it). A rapid barrage of dozens of high-energy polaron/disruptor beams fanned out in a wide spread. . The Cerberus' powerful shields absorbed some of the blasts, but that confirmed Patterson had raised shields and the Penumbra wouldn't be able to transport him out. Even though most of the blasts were directed at the Cerberus, many beams fanned out into empty space, and ... some of them hit the Penumbra the ship rocked from the impacts. . Tabby quickly strapped himself in, as did Filler. Zak grabbed the arms of his chair, "Whoa! Filler, got that course laid in?" . T'lin rode the shockwave, managing to hold onto her tea without spilling any. Kat held on as the ship rocked and checked to make sure she still had a lock on Patterson's bio-signs. . Relok, however, nearly fell out of his chair! He held onto the console and mumbled, "Wow!" . Den finally noticed T'Lin's arrival and said, "T'Lin! Good. I've got an idea. Git rid of the tea." . T'Lin stared at Den calmly before answering, "Speak. I can listen and drink at the same time, Den." She demonstrated by taking a sip from her cup.

. Den continued without missing a beat, "Look up Captain Scott's theory on Trans-warp beaming and get Patterson off of that ship." He readied to return fire to cover the Cerberus and reported, "Shields at 83%!" . Tabby grumbled, "I am VERY glad I strapped in, because my face came this close," he held two fingers up a quarter inch apart, "to meeting the console." . Filler answered the Captain, "Um ... course laid in, sir! Slipstream is online." Then he mumbled, "I think." . T'Lin glanced over Filler's shoulder as she started up towards Den at the Tactical Station. "Slipstream is online." She pointed to a particular corner of the screen and continued, "That is where you will see the stats." She continued up to Den and said, "Trans-warp beaming is entirely unstable, and you are out of your mind if you think Patterson will not go down with that ship." . Den remarked, "I am pretty sure he doesn't have a choice, considering that the Captain said getting him out of there was a good idea. Do it please." . She logged in at the Tertiary Science Station beside Relok (since her Primary Station was still offline thanks to Carshel). . Zak gave another sigh, "I hope Patterson has a plan." . T'Lin said, "He is buying us time, distracting the warbird. Get us to the Kyrathian Homeworld, he will rendezvous with us there. Captain, he has a plan, let us go along with it." . Zak grunted, "Filler, get us ...." . But he was interrupted as another fan of high-energy beams ripped through space. The strange Android was firing blindly all through nearby space! The ship rocked again as several more randomly placed beams struck the ship. . Den quickly checked their status and reported, "Shields at 69%!" . Zak barked out, "Filler, engage! Damn that Leather-neck! Den, hold your fire, we don't want to give away our position."

. Den grabbed his console and called out, "Plasma Torpedo incoming! Brace!" . Filler activated the Slipstream and a corridor formed with the Penumbra headed into it, and then ... the plasma torpedo hit them! Apparently, the strange Android had noticed the slight flickering as the Penumbra's shields resisted the polaron beams and was able to target them! . The ship was rocked, hard, and entered the slipstream corridor ... sideways! . T'Lin's tea went flying out of the cupholder as she called out, "Gravity plating and inertial dampeners, Filler! I do not suspect we want our whole crew to be injured during this maneuver." . Kat held onto her console as the Penumbra flew sideways down a Slipstream Corridor. "Okay, this is not fun anymore!" . The blood drained out of Relok's face as he saw the Slipstream Corridor walls zipping by the main viewscreen sideways. "Filler!" he called out, "You have to get us straight! If we hit the edge of the corridor ...." . But he was cut off as the Penumbra's nacelles made contact with the wall of the corridor. It skipped off and started careening within the corridor, skidding and bouncing along at faster-than-warp speeds! . T'Lin tapped her commbadge, calling Sickbay, "Shadow, lock things down, we are in slipstream sidewa-" she was cut off as the ship bounced and she was rattled around in her seat. . Relok too was rattled, and banged his head against the monitor screen, cracking yet another console's display. He fell to the floor. . T'Lin called, "Kat! Relok has hit his head on the monitor. Can you check on him, when we are not in danger." . Zak was holding on to the arms of his chair for dear life. He shouted, "Filler! Get us right! Straighten out!"

. Filler nearly screamed, "I'm trying, Captain! I'm trying!" He was struggling, fighting the sticks with everything he had. "This isn't anything like Flight School!" . "Damn it, Filler!" Tabby barked. "Move the stick like this!" He remembered Carter showing him things and reached across to grab the flight stick and lend his strength. "Come on," he said, "Straighten damn it! You piece of AHHHHH!" . Den was jostled as well, hitting his own head on the console and coming up with a bloody gash that he ignored. He pulled back up to the console, his fingers running over multiple spots with both hands. . The Penumbra continued skipping and bouncing along the walls of the Slipstream Corridor for several more seconds before finally being "spit out" the other end. . Den reported, "Shields are down to 25%. Stress on the hull is buckling Decks 3, 12, and 24. Structural integrity is at 46%. Emergency forcefields are in place to re-enforce those decks." . As the bumping settled down, Kat disengaged her seatbelt and grabbed her medkit and rushed to Relok's side. She quickly scanned him as she glanced up to her brother knowing he was next. . Bevin had just had time to strap in to the seat of the Primary Science Station before all the bucking started. Now that it had settled, she quickly rushed over to the Engineering Station and pulled up damage reports from all over the ship and started prioritizing Damage Control Teams to respond. She reported, "Wahrp drive ais ahffline! Tha naycelles took sairius damage. Thairs a fire ahn Daik Thrae an' a Turbolaift is stoehck betwain Daiks Naine an' Tain!"

. Zak looked around the Bridge. Relok was on the floor near the Secondary Science Station with Kat hovering over him. T'Lin was at the Tertiary Science Station, still strapped in. Bevin was back at the Primary Engineering Station, scowling at the condition of her ship. Filler sat at the Helm with Tabby reaching over and clutching the flight stick from the Operations side of the central console. The Captain cleared his throat and asked, "Filler, where the hell are we?" . Slowly, Relok's eyes opened and he gazed up at Kat. He blinked. "Mother? What are you doing here?" . T'Lin unbuckled and asked, "Everyone all right?" She saw blood spreading down Den's face. "Den, you are bleeding." She glanced at Kat. "Kat, I have Relok." She gestured towards Den. . Kat frowned at T'Lin. "He has a serious concussion." She gathered her medkit and moved to her brother at the Tactical console. . T'Lin took out a small flashlight and addressed Relok. "Look at me." She watched the reaction of his pupils to the light. . Kat used her medical tricorder on Den as well. Other than the cut on his forehead he didn't have a concussion, but he had several bruises. She took out the dermal regenerator and took care of the head wound. As she did she grunted, "Your head's as hard as ever." She gave him a smirk. . Den shrugged, "I know, it will heal eventually." He waved off his sister's ministrations, "We're a little busy at the moment." He checked his boards again and reported, "We're losing integrity on Deck 3, half of the Turbolifts are stuck, and it looks like the warp nacelles have taken serious damage. Fireteams have been deployed. Switching to auxiliary power, the warp core is offline."

. Bevin sighed, signed out from the Engineering station, grabbed her toolkit and headed for the exit. She had her work cut out for her. Just getting down from Deck 1 to Deck 8 to get back to Main Engineering without the Turbolifts would be a chore, but she had to get the core back online. . After realizing they had indeed straightened out towards the end of the Slipstream Corridor, Tabby looked over at Filler. Ens. Proxy Filler was a junior officer in the Operations Department, and therefore was in Tabby's direct chain of command. At first Tabby wanted to cave in the boy's skull for his incompetence, but then he realized the immense pressure the young man had had on him and instead patted his shoulder. "You did good, kid." . Filler responded, a touch of panic in his voice as he tried to answer the Captain's question about where they ended up. "Um," he began, "I don't ... uh ...," he trailed off. . Tabby saw the panic in Filler's posture. He tapped him on the shoulder again, "Hey, look at me a sec, Filler. When I first got here, I couldn't even understand how to read the coordinates. You did a great job and should be proud of yourself! Also," he pointed to an area of Filler's display, "It's here." He patted the man on his back. . Filler flushed, a bit embarrassed but also relieved. He took a breath and said, "Thank you sir. I ... I've got it now, sir. Just a sec ... um ... I think that's the Kyrathian Homeworld, sir." . T'Lin glanced up at the Science console just over her head, then confirmed, "That is the Homeworld. Good job Filler." . Zak sighed, "Ens. Filler, put us in orbit. Take it easy on her." . Zak turned his chair, "Den, can you get any reading on the Cerberus? We're pretty far away now." . Den answered, "I'm trying, maybe T'Lin can get a better reading." . The Captain then said, "What the hell kind of weapons did that Warbird shoot us with? And what the hell was he shooting at? Did he see us?"

. Den gave a slight shrug, "As for the weapon, that was ... I don't know. It read as a class VX Plasma torpedo." . T'Lin tapped her commbadge calling Sickbay. "Shadow, two things: Relok has a serious concussion, and I need you to relay a message to Patterson, if you can reach him: 'Outrun, not outgun. Meet us at the Home World.'" . Shadow's voice came back over the commlink, "Understood, I'll try to reach Patterson first as I head up there to deal with Relok." . T'Lin struggled to get Relok to his feet and into the chair at the Secondary Science Station before turning to face Zak and Den. "That was neither Aslan nor Romulan. What is that human saying, 'In over our brain'?" . The Captain smirked at his Assistant Chief of Sciences and her attempt at Human idioms. He just said, "Something like that, Lieutenant." . Den corrected her, "In over our head, T'Lin." . Suddenly Relok looked at T'Lin and said, "Y'Vet! Aren't you supposed to be in the Temple? Mother will be upset with you!" . T'Lin looked back at Relok. "Relok, what year is it?" Of course, she knew it was Stardate 202010.30, she wanted to see what he said. . He stared at her a moment and said, "Stardate 1973, right?" . But it was Den who responded, shocked, "It's what?" . Zak also heard Relok's response. "T'Lin, get him down to Sickbay, but ... don't use the Turbolifts, they're malfunctioning." . T'Lin got Relok to his feet, "Come on." . Zak turned back to the front. "Filler, park us in orbit. Tabby, work with Bevin to get some of our power back online. We might be staying here a while." Sickbay: . Down in Sickbay on Deck 5, Dr. Shadow K'Trevala was making sure everything was ready in case it was needed in a hurry. He considered that even if Romulans needed to be brought aboard from that Warbird, he'd be ready to treat them.

. Lt. T'Lin had been meditating on a biobed in the far corner of the room, attempting to balance her dual souls whose harmony had been somehow disturbed by their passage through the Rift. Her people, the N'Ereon, were Vulcans that lived in the wilderness between the vast Savanna and the Jungle on the large tropical continent opposite the deserts most people were familiar with. Among them there was a group of elite warriors known as the D'Vir. T'Lin was one of these D'Vir, and as part of the practices and rituals involved in her initiation, she had acquired her second "soul", the katra of an elder of her people, that shared her psyche. . A strong empath, T'Lin could sense the tension on the Bridge, even five decks away and knew that her time of quiet meditation was coming to an end. She gathered herself and started out of Sickbay towards a Turbolift, headed back to the Bridge. . Earlier, during the tense moments as the Android had destabilized the Rift, Ens. Jackson Carshel had grown frustrated at the willful destruction of his delicately balanced patch holding the Rift stable and had punched a computer screen. As a result, he had injured his hand and was headed to Sickbay to have it looked at. From the Turbolift he called Dr. Shadow K'Trevala, "Shadow, I'm on my way. Please see if you can get T'Lin to help, and let them know that I ... uh ... apologize for breaking T'Lin's computer." . T'Lin passed Carshel at the Sickbay doors. As he saw her he mumbled, "Boss! I ... uh ... Relok ... uh ...," he trailed off. . T'Lin called back down the corridor towards Sickbay, 'Shadow! Can you fix his hand, and ... get him in control of his emotions?' . Shadow replied, "Sure thing, T'Lin." He grabbed his medkit and moved to check Carshel as he entered. . She turned back to Carshel. "We will have a talk about this later, Carshel."

. "Yes, Boss." He said as the doors slid shut. . Carshel turned to Shadow, "Hey, uh, Shadow, I have a ... small problem here. My hand ... might ... be broken." He showed him the swollen and discolored hand. . As Shadow checked the injured hand, Carshel tapped his commbadge with the other. "Bevin?" he called the Chief Engineer. . Bevin's voice came back in her strong Brogue, "Aye, Carshel, wha be ait?" . Carshel said, "I damaged a computer on the bridge of the Science section. If you have the time I'd very much like it ... well, fixed or replaced entirely. I'll explain later, right now I need to tend to my hand." . Bevin responded, "Nae priblim, laittil braitty bri'thair. I'm ailraidy werkin an gaittin tha raiplaismint scrain fer their." She pulled a replacement screen from a storage bulkhead and began installing it. She continued speaking, "Iffin ye dae thais aigin, hawwivvir, ye'll be daein ait an yer awn." . Carshel's voice came back, "Whaaaat???? Pardon me come again?" He hadn't quite made out the thick Scottish Brogue. . Tabby cut in to explain, "She said if you do that again you're on your own." . Bevin nodded and said, "I'll dae thais ane, bit tha naixt ane ye're daein bay yersailf!" . Bevin nodded, "Riiight ... okay then," he responded. . In the Turbolift, T'Lin took a moment to steady herself, then called out, "MAX, I need a calming tea waiting for me when I arrive on the Bridge." . MAX, the onboard Artificial Intelligence, responded, "I'll have the ship's computer get one waiting in the starboard replicator, T'Lin." . T'Lin said, "Thank you, MAX." She raised her mental walls against the emotions that assaulted her daily as the Turbolift doors slid open and she stepped out onto the Bridge. . Back in Sickbay, Carshel asked Shadow, "So, uh, fact 1: Is it broken? Fact 2: Can I get back to work yet?"

. Shadow checked and treated his wrist in the Minaran fashion, that is, using his empathic healing ability to transfer the injury from Carshel to Shadow and then for Shadow's own accelerated metabolism to heal itself. He said, "No to both. But, I'll need you to sit there and be quiet for about 10 minutes while I get the glass and all out of it. You've several lacerated ligaments and tendons that need to be repaired, take me a few minutes." . Suddenly the ship is rocked from several strong blasts and Carshel nearly slid off the table! He inadvertently used his damaged hand to grip the bed to keep him from calling and cried out, "Oww! Damn it! For Frick's sake!" His face was contorted with the pain. . Shadow was also rocked, but gripped the edge of the bed himself to stabilize. He reached out with his mental abilities to help reduce Carshel's pain. . The pain eased and Carshel commented, "That actually hurt! I've dealt with pain, but that hurt like hell!" . Another blast rippled through the ship as more of the Warbirds's disruptors rand along the shields. Carshel looked up and said, "Whatever that was, I hope it doesn't happen again, 'cause I don't think I can hold onto things in this pain." He thought to himself, which the strong telepath of Dr. K'Trevala could pick up, ~Next time roll and kick things away. Don't use that hand! I'm sure it's broken now, though, but if I let him know how bad it hurts he won't let me go back to work, and they need me!~ . Carshel paused a moment, thinking about his own words just then. "They need me!" He said out loud, then muttered, "I've never been needed before." He smirked in spite of the pain. . Shadow heard Carshel's thoughts and his statement afterward, but just continued quietly working to repair the ligaments in his hand, easing the young man's pain with his mental abilities as he worked.

. And then an even bigger impact struck the ship and it bucked hard, then bounced and rattled. This time Carshel actually was thrown from the biobed. He still caught himself with the injured hand (it was his primary hand) but he rolled through it, biting his lip to keep from crying out in pain. He thought to himself ~What did I have a feeling that would happen?~ . T'Lin's voice came over a commlink, "Shadow, lock things down, we are in slipstream sidewa-" but she was cut off as the ship bounced and she was rattled around in her seat. . Carshel looked up from the floor, "Is there a strap somewhere nearby, so I can just stay on the damn floor? The floor never did me wrong, only being ON things!" . Shadow hit a button on the wall to activate passive restraints in sickbay to help hold them from any additional injuries. He crouched beside Carshel to help support him through the rough ride as the ship bounced and skipped on the edges of a Slipstream Corridor. . When things settled down, Carshel glanced around. "Is it over?" . "For the moment, I think so," Shadow answered. . Then another call from T'Lin came over the comms, "Shadow, two things: Relok has a serious concussion, and I need you to relay a message to Patterson, if you can reach him: 'Outrun, not outgun. Meet us at the Home World.'" . Shadow tapped his commbadge and answered, "Understood, I'll try to reach Patterson first as I head up there to deal with Relok." He stood up and reached for his medkit, even as he reached out with his mind trying to contact Patterson. . Carshel got back to his feet and said, "I ... just splint me, I'll heal on my own! I'll admit everything once this is over, but I need to get up there and help them."